JJ’s back and jacking jumpers.

Clutch jump shots. No-hesitation jump shots. Jumpers that seniors make when their team badly needs one.

“Seniors,” Woodstock boys basketball coach Ryan Starnes said, “win games.”

“They were falling,” Stokes said with a grin and a shrug of his jump shots after his 3-pointer down the stretch helped the Blue Streaks edge host Marengo 58-57 in a Kishwaukee River Conference game Friday night.

After beating Marengo by 20 points in mid-December, Woodstock (15-8, 7-2 KRC) had a much more difficult time against the improving Indians (5-18, 2-7 KRC), who had lost their past three games, but by only a combined 14 points, including a buzzer-beater.

“Our main goal is to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season,” Marengo coach Jeremy Burke said. “The last two games [against Woodstock North and Sandwich] were a little rough, but tonight was a good battle. It was a fun game.”

Stokes is happy to be playing games again. The senior forward missed multiple games recently with a shoulder injury but looked like his old self against Marengo.

His nine-point, six-rebound effort included two 3-pointers, the second of which he launched, without hesitation, from the left corner to put Woodstock up 52-50 with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter.

Stokes shot the ball only five times but made three, in addition to splitting two free throws.

“Feeling good,” said Stokes, whose late-game 3 came after he stole the ball. “I’m ready to finish out the season. I would say I felt 100% over at [Woodstock] North. I felt pretty good today, for sure.”

Woodstock junior Max Beard led all scorers with 25 points, including eight (all from the foul line) in the fourth quarter. In a game that saw the two teams shoot a combined 61 free throws, Beard was 16 of 21.

That checks out to 76%, which is better than how he was faring from the line earlier in the season.

“I switched my routine mid-season,” Beard said. “My shooting percentage from the free-throw line was not up to par at the beginning of the season. So we just switched it to, ‘Get a deep breath, walk up to the line, get your feet set, take [another] deep breath, shoot it, stay on balance, follow through, keep your eyes on the rim.’ “

Beard hit 4 of 6 foul shots in the final 37 seconds, and Rian Hahn-Clifton (13 points, three second-quarter 3-pointers) went 2 of 2 from the line to help the Streaks prevail.

Marengo’s Blake Ritter hit a 3 at the buzzer, his third of the game, and finished with 12 points coming off the bench. Freshman point guard Caden Bezik led the Indians with 23 points, hitting two 3s and going 9 of 14 from the stripe. Parker Weadge had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Hard-luck Marengo has lost four games by one point and two games by two points.

“We’re a young team, so we’re getting used to being in those situations,” said junior forward Sam Vandello, whose buzzer-beating layup had Marengo up 30-28 at halftime. “The past couple years we haven’t been in situations like that, but we’re getting used to being in those winning situations, and eventually we’re going to get it.”

Marengo led 17-7 early in the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Ritter and still led by eight midway through the third after a spinning, acrobatic shot in the lane by Bezik.

Weadge’s two free throws had the Indians up 50-49 with 4:26 to go in the fourth, before Stokes stuck his 3 to give Woodstock the lead for good.

“Huge credit to Coach Burke and his staff,” Starnes said. “They’ve really done a good job with the program. Those kids play so hard. I mean, they’re the reason why this game was close. They played physical basketball tonight. They came out and punched us in the mouth.”

“Sometimes it’s a big shot. Sometimes it’s taking a charge. Sometimes it’s different things, but they have ways of making plays when you need them. And JJ’s the epitome of that.”